Ishq Pradhan is a New York-based filmmaker, theatre director, and a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Her work blends emotional intimacy with themes of identity, trauma, and politics, from a psychological lens.

Most recently, she directed MOM PLAY, written by Madelyn Slattery, which premiered Off-Broadway to critical acclaim.

Her latest film, Portrait, starring Thomas Sadoski (The Newsroom, HBO) and Jasmine Cephas Jones (Hamilton, Blindspotting), is set in the world of war journalism and examines how conflict shapes our understanding of empathy. The film was executive produced by Thomas Sadoski, Omar Mullick (Flight/Risk, Amazon), and Suroosh Alvi (Founder, VICE).

Previously, she wrote, directed, and starred in Tadap, a harrowing look at child marriage in India. The film premiered at the Chicago South Asian Film Festival and the International South Asian Film Festival, and was a Semi-Finalist at the Academy Award– and BAFTA–qualifying Flickers Rhode Island International Film Festival.

Ishq has worked under and been mentored by acclaimed filmmakers Lara Shapiro and Vikramaditya Motwane, a pioneer of modern independent cinema in India. Her screenwriting has been recognized by the LA Femme International Film Festival, Screencraft, and The Black List.

She is currently Head of Development at Mild Mannered & Timid Productions, helping shape a slate of projects focused on culturally diverse perspectives across fiction and nonfiction.